The author, avoiding technicalities clearly defines the actors, their roles and interactions: galleries, dealers, collectors, auction houses, museums, artists, a world where economics appear to have a different set of rules. The numerous stories or anecdotes, official versions of well-known rumors make the book very entertaining. The postscript is clear: it should not be used as an academic reference.

But here is a cold fact exposed in the book: art is also about money, big money. The numbers keep growing and the zeros multiplying.
Speculation? Business? The analysis of the economically driven art world is skewed by fashion, egos, cunning and ...art. The author avoids cynicism when describing with virtuosity questionable transactions where at the end everybody should make money.
A major point made in the book is about the growing slice of the market taken over by the auction houses and the increasing difficulty for galleries and dealers to compete with them. Economics in contemporary art are changing.

This book is essential to understand the business of art... which goes beyond business.

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About Me

Art e-Walk is a blog about modern and contemporary art. I enjoy writing about my visits at museums, galleries and other art events.
The pseudonym Nemo (no one) relates to my state of mind when first looking at a piece of art, forgetting age, gender, race, culture and prejudices to soak into it and avoid bias.
My goal is to stimulate thought, interest and engage fellow art enthusiasts.
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